Freud's Dora: A Psychoanalytic, Historical, and Textual Study [Hardcover]

Professor Patrick J. Mahony (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 1996

The case of the patient whom Freud immortalised as Dora is regarded as a landmark in the evolution of psychoanalytic theory and technique, as a graphic demonstration of psychosomatics and the therapeutic significance of dreams. Now in this book Patrick Mahony claims that this case study is not a model of treatment but an exhibition of the rejection of a patient by a clinician, an inkblot test of Freud's misapprehensions about female sexuality and adolescence. Combining psychoanalytic, historical and textual approaches, Mahony ask us look at the case history in a new way. He maps out in detail how Freud neglected much significant data and he traces the clinical impact of Freud's undigested friendship with Fliess. Mahony also sheds light on Dora's bisexuality, transference, trauma and symptoms, and uncovers the deeper, problematic meaning of Dora's dreams. Through his close textual analysis Mahony shows that this case history is a specimen of symptomatic writing and evidence of Freud's countertransferential impasse.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two books address two of the early cases that mark the beginning of psychoanalysis. Anna O., initially treated with hypnosis in the 1880s, was written up in Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud's Studies in Hysteria (1895). Freud published the Dora case in 1905, at the beginning of the psychoanalytic movement, and several authors have reconsidered this case since then. Both these books find Freud guilty of errors and worse: deliberate deception in presenting material to support his theory, misstatement of dates and sequences, and so on. Historian Borch-Jacobsen rightly emphasizes the power of suggestion, a given in hypnosis but supposedly minimized in psychoanalysis. He explores the Breuer-Freud relationship, their bitter separation, and the link to the "recovered memory" fad of today, concluding "what should we find but a false memory right at the heart of the modern myth of remembering." Mahony, a psychoanalyst, English professor, and author of Freud as a Writer (International Univ., 1981), studies the case of Dora as a narrative, with many enlightening examples from the original German. Unlike Borch-Jacobsen, he is not a debunker, though he seriously faults Freud for blatantly sexist mistreatment of Dora. Readers knowledgeable about psychoanalysis will appreciate Mahony's learned discourse; general readers can address the opening and closing chapters. Borch-Jacobsen presumes less familiarity with the subject and it has little respect for Freud, but he writes an effective expose that reads like a detective story. It sparkles with light and heat, and it has made an impact in France. Both books are valuable in the ongoing effort to understand how and why Freud became one of the great influences of our century.?E. James Lieberman, George Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1St Edition edition (August 28, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300066228
• ISBN-13: 978-0300066227
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.